Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Procrastination FAIL.

I do these independent research projects with my students. The deal is, they plan and conduct an experiment - one more detailed and complex than what we do in class - and write it up.

The papers are due a week from this coming Monday.

Student comes in to my office hours: "Um, I can't find any background information on my topic. I looked at all the things you suggested."

Me: "Well, can you find some general background information on the taxonomic group, rather than the individual species?"

Student: "I couldn't find anything. I don't have anything."

Me, trying a different tack: "Did you get results from your experiment? Do you have any data?"

Student hems and haws and I get the distinct impression that BECAUSE she didn't find background information she DIDN'T BOTHER to do the experiment.

Student: "I need to start something new. If I got a bunch of [samples] could I bring them in and [do big complex analysis that someone in authority will have to be present for] next week?"

Me, feeling my stomach starting to drop, knowing the "someone in authority" will be me: "Uhhhh...when did you plan on doing this?"

Student: "Thursday or Friday of next week." (NB: the paper is due the Monday after that Friday)

Me: "That's an awfully short turnaround time." (meaning both: I really don't want to have to deal with your failure to plan, and I don't want to read a hastily thrown together paper)

Student: "Well, I might be able to do it earlier in the week."

Me: "Okay, okay. I will probably just have to point out where the stuff you will need is in the lab and check up periodically as you work. I don't have time to be right there in the lab supervising."

But dear God, I hope this is the only person with this problem. If I have five people needing to do last minute experiments at the last minute - well, I'm going to be increasingly uncivil about it.

What I should have said, but didn't, is "Don't ever come to me asking for a recommendation letter now, because I see how you are at planning ahead."

1 comment:

nightfly said...

I have a practical question. Sometimes smart students can have terrible time-management skills: not a matter of being lazy, like your Speshul Snowflake™, but genuinely bad at planning. Do you have a mini-deadline for studies like this, along the lines of "If your experiment is not begun by X-2 weeks, or finished by X-1 week, you are completely hosed and you should not expect to pull this off."

You'd surely still get people knocking down your door with "O noes I'm like srsly behind and I hafta start!!one!" but would that spread it out over a few weeks, or even prevent certain cases?

OR... hm, it could just mean three times the panic as the same five people beat down your office door at each deadline. See, this is why I don't teach college. But I'm still honestly curious about the question!